


Those First Crucial Moments

by marsbarsandcookiejars



Series: Course of Events [1]
Category: Veronica Mars (TV), Veronica Mars - All Media Types
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-17
Updated: 2019-09-17
Packaged: 2020-10-20 20:36:37
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 571
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20681561
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/marsbarsandcookiejars/pseuds/marsbarsandcookiejars
Summary: A “what could’ve happened” fix. If Veronica had thought a little more about Lilly’s secrets. If the Kane’s had known that Duncan wasn’t the only viable suspect.





	Those First Crucial Moments

**Author's Note:**

> I know that there’s a lot of discussion about the actual murder weapon. Most people seem content with it being the ashtray and the Oscar was purely a decoy. I have my doubts. I believe the Oscar is the real murder weapon because how else would it have Lilly’s blood on it. I think the bit in the elevator about the ashtray is just to throw Veronica off. If he admits to killing Lilly with the Oscar, he’s admitting to tampering with evidence, which she could investigate and use against him. I think he kept the Oscar as a contingency plan, like he used in the actual show.

October 3rd, 2003, 10:57pm

Veronica was laying in bed, going through her day, trying to think of any hint that Lilly had been in danger. She kept thinking about what Lilly had said at the car wash.  _ I’ve got a secret, a good one. _ That could mean anything. Lilly loved her secrets. She kept them close to her heart like treasures. Veronica thought about those naked pictures of that boy from France, kept tucked away in Lilly’s secret treasure chest that was her air vents. Air vents… maybe Lilly had more secrets hidden there. Veronica practically ran to the phone and dialed her dads number. When he didn’t pick up, she called his work cell.

“Sheriff Mars.”

“Dad, Lilly keeps things in her air vents. If she has things she wants to keep a secret, she puts them in the air vent by her desk.” 

“Okay, sweetie, we’re about to search her room now. I’ll make sure to look.” 

When they hung up, Veronica realized her mistakes.  _ Keeps. Has. Puts.  _ She broke down and at some point, the crying exhausted her and she finally fell asleep. 

October 4th, 2003, 12:57pm

Apparently when Keith Mars broke the news to the Kane’s that their daughter was having an affair with Aaron Echolls, and that the timestamp on the video made her time of death impossible, Celeste Kane broke down. She told him everything with Jake Kane sitting next to her in complete shock. They had found Duncan holding Lilly’s body by the pool. Duncan had a type of epilepsy that gave him violent outbursts that Lilly was known to be caught in the crossfires of from time to time. When they saw him, they thought he had killed her and they couldn’t lose both their children. They called Clarence Wiedman to help them. They put ice around the body to mess with the time of death, they set up fake alibis, they washed Duncan’s soccer uniform to get the blood out. Duncan was catatonic the whole time, she insisted. He had nothing to do with it. 

It was still plausible that Duncan had killed Lilly. In the Kanes attempt to protect him, they had actually made a case against him. There was no way to guarantee the time of death before a full autopsy could be done. Even then, the chances it would be accurate were slim. Keith Mars knew this. But he also knew that Aaron Echolls didn’t. And after 12 hours of interrogation, he seemed on the verge of cracking. In those 12 hours, Deputy Sacks had obtained video surveillance from the Kane’s neighbor that showed Aaron’s car entering and leaving the Kane residence a half hour before Duncan’s pulled in. They got a warrant to search everything with the Echolls name attached to it. They even searched Logan’s locker at school. Finally, they found their smoking gun. Tucked away deep within the family storage locker, a bloody Oscar. And when the 13th hour rolled around, and Sacks walked into the interrogation room with the bloodied Oscar in an evidence bag, Aaron Echolls cracked. Later, he would recant, claiming duress after a 13 hour interrogation left him fatigue, but it didn’t matter. Aaron had motive, means, and opportunity. And the Balboa County Sheriff’s Department had all three in evidence bags. And so at 2:17 pm, October 4th, 2003, Aaron Echolls was charged with the murder of Lilly Kane. 

  
  



End file.
